60

Sophie couldn’t feel her hands.

The photo was still in her lap, but her fingers had gone numb. Her eyes didn’t blink. Her mind didn’t move.

Everything inside her had frozen.

“I should’ve known,” she whispered.

Alexander sat beside her, silent, watching her face.

“I should’ve known he wouldn’t just send a message. He had to make a point.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Alexander said softly.

She looked at him, her voice cracking. “Didn’t I?”

He reached out, his hand covering hers, grounding her. “You’ve done nothing but protect Ethan from the moment he was born.”

Sophie shook her head. “But how do I protect him from this?”

“We will,” Alexander said firmly. “You’re not doing this alone anymore.”

She stared at the photo.

A candid shot.

Ethan’s face caught mid-laugh.

Too close.

Too intimate.

A father’s gaze through a stranger’s lens.

Her throat tightened. “He was watching the whole time. He knew where we were, what we were doing. He saw me.”

“He wanted you to see him, too,” Alexander said. “This was never about Ethan. It’s about you.”

Sophie stood, pacing the porch, running both hands through her hair.

“He said not to lie to Ethan. He said Ethan has his eyes. He’s going to use that. He’s going to twist it into something ugly and dangerous and—”

“Sophie.”

She stopped.

Alexander rose and stepped close, his voice low but steady. “He’s already trying. And we’re still standing. That means we’re winning.”

“He’s escalating,” she breathed. “He’s getting bolder. That means something worse is coming.”

“I know.”

“I don’t want Ethan caught in the crossfire.”

“He won’t be.”

“He already is!”

Alexander didn’t flinch. “Then we make a choice.”

Sophie blinked. “What choice?”

He exhaled. “We tell Ethan the truth. At least part of it. The part he can handle.”

She stared at him. “No.”

“Sophie—”

“No. He’s six, Alexander. He still believes dinosaurs can come back to life if we find the right bone. He’s not ready for this.”

“I’m not talking about legal paternity or danger,” Alexander said gently. “I mean the truth that matters.”

Her brow furrowed.

Alexander took her hand, held it between both of his.

“He needs to know he’s safe,” he said. “That he’s loved. That he has a family willing to fight for him.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “You think that’ll be enough?”

“For now?” He nodded. “Yes.”

She looked at the house behind them, the glow of the hallway light spilling through the front window.

“He was so excited about pancakes,” she whispered.

Alexander gave a small smile. “I’ll work on that recipe.”

Sophie exhaled slowly. “Okay.”

“Okay?”

“We start there. The love. The safety. But nothing else. Not yet.”

“Agreed.”

She hesitated. “Do you think he’ll ever know... who Nikolai really is?”

Alexander’s voice was quiet. “I think one day, he’ll ask.”

“And when he does?”

“We tell him the truth,” Alexander said. “But we tell him our truth first.”

Sophie nodded, heart still heavy.

She wanted to believe it would be enough.

But then—

Her phone buzzed again.

No name.

Just a new message.

She hesitated.

Alexander stepped closer. “Do you want me to read it?”

She shook her head. “I need to.”

She opened it.

One sentence.

“You should come see what I’ve been building, Sophie.”

Her mouth went dry.

Alexander saw the change in her face. “What is it?”

She turned the screen toward him.

He read the message, jaw clenching.

“He’s baiting you.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“You can’t go.”

“I wasn’t planning to.”

Alexander’s eyes locked onto hers. “Promise me.”

She swallowed. “What if it’s something I need to see?”

“No.”

“Alexander—”

“I won’t let him pull you back into that world.”

“I might already be in it.”

He grabbed her arms, gently but firmly. “No. You left that world, Sophie. And you built something better. Don’t let him drag you backward.”

Her lips trembled. “But what if going back is the only way forward?”

A long silence stretched between them.

Then Alexander let her go.

“If you go,” he said, “I’m going with you.”

She looked up at him. “He won’t like that.”

“I don’t care.”

“He might see it as a threat.”

Alexander gave her a small, crooked smile. “Then we’re even.”

Her phone buzzed again.

A second message.

“Tomorrow. 8PM. Come alone.”

Alexander saw it.

She didn’t say anything.

She didn’t have to.

They both knew she was going.

And she was going alone.

Sophie pressed her forehead to Alexander’s chest. “This is going to ruin everything.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Or it’s going to end it.”

She closed her eyes. “I’m scared.”

“I know.”

“I hate being scared.”

“I hate that you have to be.”

They stood like that, silent and still, for what felt like hours.

Later that night, Sophie lay in bed, watching the ceiling.

She didn’t sleep.

She didn’t try.

The photo was tucked in her drawer.

But the fear—

That stayed under her skin.

And when the clock ticked past midnight, and the house creaked with quiet, she slipped out of bed.

Went to Ethan’s room.

Watched him sleep.

Watched him breathe.

She knelt beside him and whispered, “I’ll protect you. I’ll give up everything to keep you safe. Even if that means going back to the man who tried to own me.”

Ethan stirred.

She kissed his forehead.

And in that moment, she knew—

Tomorrow night, she would face Nikolai.

But she wouldn’t go to negotiate.

She would go to end it.

One way or another.